If You Leave Me
Books | Fiction / Literary
3.9
Crystal Hana Kim
“An immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion, and the road not taken.” — People"One of the most beautiful and moving love stories you’ll read this year." — Nylon MagazineNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • The New York Post • Vulture • Real Simple • Bustle • Nylon • Thrillist • Mental Floss • Self magazine • Booklist • Refinery 29An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that still haunts us today.When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan.Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi—and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.Richly told and deeply moving, If You Leave Me is a stunning portrait of war and refugee life, a passionate and timeless romance, and a heartrending exploration of one woman’s longing for autonomy in a rapidly changing world.
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More Details:
Author
Crystal Hana Kim
Pages
435
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2018-08-07
ISBN
006264520X 9780062645203
Ratings
Google: 5
Community ReviewsSee all
"A tragic saga of love, longing, and inner turmoil. From childhood love to the most difficult wartime decisions, from marriage to motherhood, disillusionment, and imagining what could have been, this story covers a wide array of interpersonal struggles with chilling clarity. Crystal Hana Kim paints a devastating picture of depression, pining, and all the turbulent nuance of mental health with says so much about the cycle of pain and trauma, of love and resentment. A hard hitting debut. "
Emily
"This book was beautiful. The writing is evocative and gorgeous, and the characters, with all their flaws, jump off the page. It’s definitely a 5 star read in general, but I just didn’t love it. For me, I need to find something redeeming in either the scope of the story or the characters in order to really feel satisfied at the end, but that wasn’t really the point of this book. This book explores choices, or the lack there of, and how that in turn shapes our lives. I felt deeply for each of the characters and the situations they found themselves in. There was one line in particular that gutted me and captured exactly the anger and hopelessness the book conveys: “You weren’t worth this life.” It was hard to read at points, and ultimately a real depiction of what life must have been like in South Korea during and after the war. I’m happy I read the book (thanks Goodreads giveaways for an early copy!) and I encourage others to do so as well, but to say I truly enjoyed it would be a stretch."
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Allie Peduto